The Reasons of a Short Life
by TrappedinNeverland
Summary: Hetalia x Skyrim Alfred joins The Companions under the powerful and mysterious Harbinger, Arthur Kirkland. However, as time passes, the two grow close and become best friends. Will it stay that way as they go through the pleasures and dangers of life in Skyrim? UsUk Yaoi. {APH}{Skyrim}
1. Chapter 1

Arthur walked into Jorrvaskr with a less-than-pleased manner. Aela, sitting at the large table set before the double doors, watched him as he strode grumpily over to the opposite far end, sat himself down, and half-heartedly picked up a small piece of bread and nibbled on it.

"Uh, Harbinger? Is there a problem?" Ria, who was sitting next to her, called toward their superior hesitantly.

"When is there _not_ a problem?" Arthur retorted biting down with more force than necessary on the pastry he was holding.

"What's the problem _this time_ then?" Ria specified.

"Right now? Hah, right now there's more than one dragon swirling around just on the borders of Whiterun, there are vampires practically climbing over the wall,_ and_ there are Khajits and Argonians all over the damn place! What's Skyrim become, eh? A tourist attraction?" Arthur spat, dropping the bread onto the plate placed in front of him and standing up roughly.

"I think you're overreacting," Aela stated calmly.

"Overreacting?" Arthur repeated with angered shock in his tone, "I think you, Aela, are _underreacting_!" he practically shouted.

"I think not. . . ." Aela replied, raising her gaze from the food basket near her to the green-grass gaze of her leader.

"Of course you don't! And now, haha, now I have a recruit to deal with! Along with Ann (Liverpool OC)!" Arthur threw up his hands.

"Oh, a new person? What's he or she like? When will they be joining?" Ria asked excitedly, placing her elbows on the table and grinning up at Arthur despite the fact he was way off his temper.

Arthur just stared at her for about a minute or so before placing his fore and middle finger to his forehead and letting out an exasperated sigh. "He'll be joining tomorrow, Ria. His name is Alfred."

"I like that name. What's he like?" she repeated.

"If I knew, I would have told you." Arthur grumbled.

"Grandpa!" At that moment, a young girl with dark purple hair sprinted up the stairs from the Jorrvaskr Living Quarters and jumped into Arthur's arms in a big hug. "I thought you'd never get back from that meeting! Was it fun? Who was there? Did you see any dragons?" She asked excitedly.

Arthur, flustered, pushed her off and shook his head. "I'll tell you about it in the morning, Ann, but right now it's past your bed time so head back downstairs. Okay?" He cooed.

Ann stomped her foot slightly and let out a small sigh. "Ohkay Grampie." She murmured before turning on her heel and sulking back down the steps she'd originally sprinted up.

"I'm curious about the meeting as well." Vilkas said from the corner of the tavern. Arthur looked to him gruffly.

"I said I'm willing to talk about it _tomorrow_. If I have the time, I'll inform you about what went down, if I don't, understand that it's because I can't." Arthur growled before, with a deep huff, he straightened and walked down the stairs to his own room at the end of the hallway.

Alfred walked into Jorrvaskr hesitantly. It was 20th of Frostfall, which put the time at about 11:00. The tavern, if you were blind and had walked in, would be silent, but Alfred could obviously see that there were three people in the area. They were all in different parts of the large space and were not interacting in the slightest. When he stepped in, all three of them looked at him.

"Who're you?" One of them asked, his voice was deep and scratchy. Alfred's instincts said danger, but these were The Companions, and the chances were, he meant no harm.

"My name is Alfred . . . ? I'm here as Arthur's recruit . . . . ?" Alfred said to him, hoping that it would provide some sort of identity.

"Farkas don't pester him. Arthur's expecting him." A woman stated. Her armor was slightly exposing and Alfred noted that she was very attractive. Her voice was a pretty one, and not deep and cutting like the man – apparently named Farkas.

"I'm Aela." She said, now turning to him. "And that sack of horse dung over there is Farkas. We're part of the Circle, except for Brill." She said. Just as she spoke, the back door opened and a blonde man with large eyebrows and expensive looking armor walked in. At his arrival, the three of them looked up and straightened slightly on instinct. Alfred received the notion that his man was a high ranking one, perhaps part of the Circle as well? Or maybe this man was Arthur Kirkland, the Dragon Slayer, the Dragonborn, Thane of Whiterun, and Thane of Falkreath. One of the most important people in all of Skyrim. Alfred too, straightened instinctually.

"Harbinger, this is Alfred. You're expecting him, right?" Aela spoke to him. Though the man was shorter than Alfred expected, he certainly held quite an aura about him that radiated dominance and most likely, power.

The man looked at straight at Alfred.

"Jones, right?" he spoke. His accent was much more different than any the newcomer had heard before, but it was oddly soothing.

"Yes, that's me." Alfred replied, tilting his chin upwards slightly attempting to make an impression.

"Right . . . you're going to do some stuff for me before you join. You need to prove your loyalty and willingness. This group receives some of the most rigorous tasks in the oddest places, and therefore, I need to be certain you'll stick with it." Arthur said to Alfred.

"Of course, I understand completely." The sandy-blonde responded.

"Excellent. There's a start. Get your tasks from Aela; she knows how to deal with recruits." Arthur ordered before walking over to her, whispering in her ear, and strolling downstairs. Just as he did so, a small child rushed in behind Alfred and followed him shouting 'Grampie!'

Alfred sighed and moved to where Aela was standing. He was finally able to notice her appearance. She was a tall, lean woman with a black war mark on her face in the shape of three large claw marks. Her eyes were hazel, and she had a bow with arrows strung over her back.

"First off, go to the Upperforge and get this blade sharpened." She requested, pulling a fine looking weapon out of its sheath at her side and handing it gingerly to him. He took it, just as gently and walked out, slinging the iron sword over his shoulder. Wait, where was the Upperforge?

"Are you looking for someone?" A voice behind him asked as he stepped out into the twilight air. It was a younger woman's, about his age. He turned and looked to her. She wasn't as pale as the rest of them had been, but she was, nonetheless, pretty. Her armor helmet covered up her head so he couldn't see her hair, and she had iron armor that was thick at the top and furry at the bottom, with tight laced-up Imperial boots.

"No, actually. I'm looking for some_where_." Alfred explained.

"Ah, I see you haven't been briefed on the tour yet? I'm Ria, by the way. I was the newest recruit until you came around. That's alright I guess, it just means I can show you the ropes." She chuckled before raising her forefinger and pointing to the door she was standing next to. "Obviously, this is Jorrvaskr. Up there," she indicated, "that's where you're headed. But, for further notice, over there, that's the Underforge. Don't go there until you have permission, or you might just be killed." Ria smiled as she pointed to a rock that was being used as a heavy door in the rock wall that would lead up to the Upperforge.

"Uh . . . okay . . ." Alfred replied awkwardly.

"Yep and when you go inside, the doors in the back lead to the training area outside, and the door that leads downstairs is where we sleep and/or eat. Though most of us eat at the table." She explained.

"Seems easy to remember," Alfred nodded, returning the polite expression.

"Yeah, it is easy to remember. Hey, just some quick advice from recruit to recruit: the tasks may seem stupid at first, but trust me, they have a purpose. An important one at that, cool?" Ria said, leaning in slightly as if to whisper.

Alfred nodded, "I figured as much."

"Yeah, so just do everything they say, and don't complain and don't reject it. And be respectful, Arthur loves it when recruits are respectful. So does the rest of the Circle, and it's kind of obvious. Most of the time you'll be able to take a buddy if you think you can't handle the mission on your own. Except the Harbinger. Arthur's so busy with all the ranks he holds and the things people need him to do. If you ask him a silly question he loses his temper easily. And then there's Farkas, he's a bit of a pain, and isn't the brightest around, but he'll be the best Shield Brother around in battle. Vilkas is his brother, Vilkas is smart, but he can chicken out easily, and he won't do much for you. Aela's . . . useful, but she can be very restricting since she's more of a far-range fighter."

"Gotcha. Farkas equals good in battle, bad in battle strategy. Vilkas is smart but he's a bit of a pain as far as battle _goes_. Aela's a good partner, but she's useless in short range combat . . . yeah?" Alfred reviewed. Ria nodded.

"Arthur's pretty good at it all around. He's more skilled in two-handed action than anything else, but he's pretty okay as far as one handed swords go. I mean, when you have extra muscle built up in your arms, one handed should be pretty easy, huh?" Ria chuckled.

"Sounds like it. Does he have magic and archery?" Alfred asked, a bit curious about his soon-to-be leader.

"Yeah, he's got some wicked nasty spells on him, and his archery isn't the worst either. Though I'm pretty sure Aela is better at it than him, but shh . . . don't tell him I told you that."

Alfred laughed slightly. "Okay, okay, your secret's safe with me." He replied.

Ria winked at him before walking forward, "Here, I'll come with you to the Upperforge so you don't get lost like I did." She said before marching onward. Alfred chuckled again before jogging to catch up to her and then following her up the steps to where a smith was working on repairing an odd artifact.

_One Week Later_

By now, Alfred had proved himself multiple times. It was about twelve at night when Arthur tapped him on the shoulder, waking him up from his sleep and motioning for him to follow. Alfred did as the Harbinger asked, and followed him outside of Jorrvaskr and into the Underforge. He had a heart attack seeing, of all things, a _werewolf_ in the corner of the room.

The reason he didn't bolt was because he recognized the hazel eyes as Aela's, and Arthur seemed as calm as ever.

"You've proven yourself, Jones. And I quite like you, but to be a Companion you must join our pack. Only then will you be fully accepted as one of us." Arthur said, turning to look at Alfred who had taken a few steps forward now.

"To become a werewolf?" Alfred asked, astounded.

"Yes. I am one, Vilkas is one . . ." Arthur trailed off, sparking Alfred's attention.

"Is Farkas?" That seemed to be the wrong question, as the werewolf looked to Arthur who visibly stiffened.

"Not anymore." Arthur replied curtly.

"And what if I don't want to become a werewolf?" Alfred asked.

" . . . Do you not?" Arthur raised an eyebrow at the newcomer. "When I first joined the Companions, and was offered to become one of them, I took it without question. I would've thought you would do the same? I suppose I was wrong. If you don't want this, then that's fine. You can go." Arthur waved his hand.

"No, no! I do, yeah, I wanna be a werewolf!" Alfred rushed forward, causing Arthur to smirk.

"Of course you do. Now," Arthur turned to Aela, pulling out a small dagger.

"What are you doing?" Alfred gasped.

Arthur made no reply as Aela held out her very furry arm, and Arthur drew the knife down it. Her silver blood poured out, and she aimed it for a small bowl like stone placed on a pedestal in front of them. Alfred took one step back in confusion.

"Come forward, don't be shy." Arthur chuckled. Alfred complied.

_Years Later_

Alfred was sitting at the table on the main floor of Jorrvaskr, and was about to bite into an apple when Ann sat next to him. She was older now, a young lady at the age of about fifteen.

"Hey, Aela says you have the best stories. Dazzle me!" She said with a smirk, snatching his apple out of his hand and taking a bite.

"Um, okay. What do you want to know a story about?" Alfred asked a bit awkwardly.

"Gramps, tell me about my old man. It better be a real story too." Ann pointed at him sharply, but had a smirk on her face as she chewed the fruit.

"Oh, I know a great one!" Alfred smirked back. "And, sure, this is real." He reassured her.

"Cool, let's hear it!"

"Before your grandfather found you, he was a common dragon slayer. They were popular back when dragons were really around, and this was before he was with the Companions, and before he was Thane of anything. He killed different dragons all over Skyrim, mostly on his own with maybe his dog around." Alfred explained.

Ann rolled her eyes, "I already know that one."

"You don't know this one, though. This is one of them he told me himself." Alfred smirked.

"Oh, well, get on with it then!"

"Right, right. Whenever he killed a dragon, he took its bones and scales, and sold them all over Skyrim. In doing so, he became one of the wealthiest travelers to ever walk this face of Tamriel." Alfred told her.

"R-really? Wow!" She exclaimed, and Alfred continued.

"Oh yes, he had authority back then just because of his reputation as a slayer. He had power like you wouldn't believe. It was like that until one day he was walking back from Windhelm, after just saving that very city from a Frost Dragon attack, when his horse slipped and fell into the river. They both lived but Arthur was unconscious and the horse's leg was broken, so it couldn't move."

"What happened next?" Ann half-demanded.

"Unfortunately, they went over a huge waterfall and the horse died, though Arthur lived – obviously. The horse's dead weight held him down, so he didn't become too hurt while floating downstream, until finally the body got caught on a rock and Arthur floated off, still unconscious."

Ann took another anxious bite of her apple, "That idiot."

Alfred chuckled and went on with the story. "After hours of floating, Arthur woke up and just in the nick of time! He had washed up on shore near a shack, but the shack wasn't empty. . . ."

"What was in the shack? A dragon? Vampires? Bandits?" Ann asked, holding the apple close to her mouth in suspense.

"None of the above. It was a Sabre Cat!"

"A Sabre Cat? That's no big deal. Gramps can like, one shot one of those things." Ann waved her hand.

"Not back then he couldn't. After he killed it, he spent a few days in the shack and regained his health before he started on his walk down the road. What should he be attacked by, than none other than a dragon?"

"Again? Already?" Ann asked.

"Yep, and he couldn't fight this one because he was out in the open with no weapon other than his blade, which wouldn't help him much if the dragon didn't land. So he ran, and where did he end up?"

"I don't know . . . Windhelm?"

"Riverwood!"

"Of course."

"From there, the dragon had followed him, and with guards on his side, he defeated the dragon with ease." Alfred finished.

"Well that was cool. I mean, I expected something a little more enthralling, but it was cool." Ann sighed, before tossing the apple in the fire – much to Alfred's dismay – and walking outside.

"She's . . . gonna be a good fighter when she grows up, but in the direction she stays in acting like this, she'll be lucky if I don't cut her down." Aela murmured from the seat on Alfred's other side. The newest member of the Circle chuckled at that just as Arthur appeared from the double front doors.

"Alfred, follow me." He said, waving his hand toward himself and walking out the door he came in. Alfred stood, walked around the table, and out to the doors in which Arthur had just exited.

"Look, since you're non-technically my 'second in command', I've promoted you and me with a household to work out plans and such. Ann will be training with Vilkas for now, so she won't be with us. It'll be just you and me. It's Breezehome, down in the Plains District." Arthur stated.

"Really? A house? Just for us?" Alfred asked slightly shocked.

"Yes. It's a nice one too, small, but it'll handle. Come, I'll show you." Arthur walked down the steps, Alfred catching up to him and together they walked to Breezehome. Upon their arrival, Alfred looked around. There were some shelves on either wall, a fire pit with some chairs in front of him, and in the back, a bench with plenty of food on it.

As he walked around the house, he noticed that in the far corner there was an alchemy lab, and upstairs revealed two bedrooms with chairs and tables and other decorations in the hallway.

"I'm guessing the smaller room is mine?" Alfred chuckled. His cramped little space was right next to the ladder, whilst Arthur's was much larger, had a queen bed, a chest, chairs and a table in his room.

"I was hoping you'd take it and I wouldn't have to make you." Arthur chuckled, walking up the step-like ladder to stand beside Alfred.

"It'll do. I quite like it." Alfred chuckled, putting his elbow on Arthur's shoulder. "How much?"

"Eh . . . north of 6000 gold I believe." Arthur replied casually.

"That's like . . . six horses and then some!" Alfred gasped, dropping his arm and turning to look at Arthur in shock. He knew that the Harbinger had a good amount of money stashed away, but to buy something more expensive than horses for sale in all of Skyrim? That was something Alfred had never even dreamt of!

"It's nothing, don't worry about it. I'll make the money up. You'd be surprised about how cheap things are now, plus, traders are willing to pay more than before for dragon bones." Arthur replied, waving his hand.

"Those things are too heavy."

"True enough, but they are worth every pound, my friend." Arthur replied.

"If you say so. Do we have a mission?" Alfred asked.

"Not at the moment, but I was going to go and check up on Riverwood, seeing as how they tend to deal with more dragons and dragon attacks than most places." Arthur replied.

"True. I'll grab Solitude and I'll ride with you up there?" Alfred asked.

"Sounds like a plan, I'll bring Vigilant." Arthur responded.

After they were both settled atop their steeds, Alfred realized how close he had become to the Harbinger. Here they were, walking side by side, sharing jokes and stories, enjoying each other's company while riding casually to visit a place that probably didn't need them and why? It was honestly more of a joy ride than a scouting trip.

"Hey, feel like visiting the Bannered Mare tonight, Art?" Alfred asked, looking to the shorter warrior.

"Sure, why not? I haven't gone drinking since before I found Ann." Arthur replied, not minding the nickname given. Alfred was probably the only one who could get away with calling Arthur 'Art' or 'Arty'.

"Nice! I think you'll enjoy it, especially if it's been that long." Alfred chuckled.

"Yeah. . . . Alfred, watch out!" Arthur drew his blade from its sheath right as a Hellhound leapt at Solitude's throat and gashed it open. The horse stumbled, and Alfred fell off, but Solitude was strong. He raised his hooves and beat at the Hellhound without mercy. With Arthur's help, the demonic beast was killed, but Solitude collapsed, dead at Alfred's feet.

" . . . "

"I'm sorry . . ." Arthur murmured, getting down from Vigilant's back and walking over to Alfred. Alfred shook his head as he kneeled next to Solitude's bloody body.

"I've had this horse since I was a kid . . ." he murmured.

Arthur felt the strings of his heart that had long since frozen over, twitch. He knelt beside Alfred and placed his hand over the inferior's gently.

"I know how it feels to lose someone close to you." Arthur replied just as quietly, gazing at Alfred, who had begun to well-up at the eyes. Alfred looked back at him before burying his face in Arthur's shoulder.

"It wasn't fair! Solitude didn't deserve that! I _swear to Talos_, _I will kill every damn vampire this side of Tamriel_!" Alfred shouted. Arthur put his arm over Alfred's back and stroked his hair slightly.

"I'll help you." The Harbinger replied, still attempting to calm his friend.

"_I won't let a single one of them live! Even if I have to crawl into the deepest darkest depths of the ocean to find them, I will every last one of them, with my bare hands if necessary! I will strangle them so hard; their very necks will shrivel away_!" Alfred shouted. The loudness hurt Arthur's ear, but he didn't mind.

"I believe you." Arthur replied. Vigilant walked over and nosed Solitude as if maybe, just maybe, her friend was still alive. But he wasn't, the white horse was dead. "Shh . . ." Arthur whispered quietly.

Alfred began to feel his anger seeping away, as Arthur began to hum a lullaby, the words barely escaping his lips.

"_You're in my arms, don't you worry. I'll tend to you, as you grow older. It's been fate that we have met. To be your, your kind-hearted brother. There are times to see you gleam, there's times when you've even cried. Don't worry, just cry right on me. Just sleep in my tender arms. Don't worry about any harm, all because I'm right here with you. One day you'll become so strong. And someday I might not see you, will you promise to come by and say hello? One day your world will grow stronger. Maybe you'll try to leave my side? I wouldn't say "go ahead," I just want you to answer. Will you remember me? There's time when I'm moody, there's time when I'm foggy. Will you untangle my weak old heart? Just sleep in my tender arms, don't worry about any harms. All because I'm right here with you, one day you'll become so strong, and someday I might not see you. Will you come by and say hello? When your world rises with the sun and my world is setting with the sun, will you and I stay together now? With all of our pastimes, I start to set up my clock. To come by and visit you forever…_"

When he was finished, there wasn't a spec of fury left in Alfred's entire body, he just sat there limply leaning on Arthur's shoulder.

"Arthur . . . that was . . ." He looked up at the blonde Harbinger and was able to smile. He found a face he'd never seen Arthur make before: it was kind, and calm, and reassuring.

"It's something I found in a book a while ago." Arthur replied before standing up and helping Alfred up as well. "Here, you can ride on Vigilant with me until we get to Riverwood." Arthur said as he boarded his black and white mare and held out a hand for Alfred.

Alfred grinned, despite the fact that his brain was screaming at him to not leave Solitude's side, he took his friend's hand and swung himself onto the steed's back with ease. Vigilant stumbled slightly at the new weight now on her back, but when Arthur dug his heals into her sides, she set off at a steady walk toward Riverwood.

Alfred sighed and leaned his head against Arthur's back, wrapping his arms around his superior's stomach and resting them in the smaller man's lap. Arthur didn't seem to mind, so Alfred didn't worry about it.

It was just dawn when they reached Riverwood. All seemed quiet and upon inspection of the sky, it proved that there would be no dragon attacking today – hopefully. Arthur only stopped to share a few words with the Riverwood Trader, sell a dragon bone to him, and then he returned and they headed back to Whiterun, this time at a fresh trot.

"I don't know if I want to get a new horse . . ." Alfred muttered absently as they passed Solitude's now stone-hard body, lying in the middle of the road. Alfred watched the figure until he could no longer see it and then returned to resting his head on Arthur's back.

"I think you should, they are very useful. I'm not saying that you'll be as close to that horse as you were to Solitude, but . . . well I think you see my point." Arthur replied.

"Yeah, I'll buy the black mare at Whiterun Stables when we get there." Alfred sighed.

Later on in the day, after doing as originally planned with Alfred buying the black mare, Arthur and Alfred were walking up toward Riverwood once more – as they'd been requested for a two day watch – when the black mare suddenly threw herself into the river and started sprinting as fast as she could. Arthur wheeled Vigilant around instantly and galloped after them, though they could barely keep up with the current.

Eventually road ran out, up toward the Towers, and Arthur forced Vigilant to jump into the river as well. The mare did so willingly. However, it seemed as though the black horse was determined to kill herself. Alfred became terrified as a waterfall came up. He attempted to get off, but his foot was caught in the stirrup of the saddle. He looked back to see Arthur and Vigilant padding as fast toward them as possible.

_At least_, Alfred thought, _if it's my last thought, it's of my one true friend _. . . Arthur's lullaby rang in Alfred's ears as he turned, and with great horror, realized that the horse was flinging herself from the very tip of the waterfall. He grabbed hold of her mane, as Arthur pulled up on the rocks right beside him and attempt to grab him, but missed.

With that, the black horse was falling, her rider being dragged down with her by his foot painfully. The mare smacked into a rock, jutting out toward the middle of the water and spun, head over heels into the rocky ground below a few minutes after collision. She was dead instantly. Alfred was paralyzed in shock for a few moments, before he snapped out of it and dragged himself to land, sitting on one of the rocks trying to configure himself.

Arthur pulled hard on the right rein and Vigilant splashed into the river once more, padding to the land with a road and galloping loudly down it, upon reaching the bottom, they stopped and Arthur got off, running to the edge of the river and looking around frantically.

"Alfred!" He called.

He froze when he saw the dead horse, and the fact that it was night as well didn't help. He waded out into the water and moved to the horse's body, in time to see Alfred, badly injured, feet away from it. His leg was torn up and bleeding badly, and his arm looked dislocated.

"A-Arthur!" Alfred called, waving his hand. Arthur moved toward him instantly and examined his wounds.

"Not a big deal, I'll be fine." Alfred dismissed him. Arthur shook his head and pulled a potion from his pocket. It looked to be the color of blood.

"Here drink this," The Harbinger instructed, handing the liquid to Alfred, who examined it carefully before popping the cork off and gulping down the contents. Instantly, he felt himself waking up, becoming more alert and the wounds in his leg even coming together and healing on their own. Arthur moved to the river and cupped water in his hands, cleaning off the blood.

"What was that?" Alfred asked, referring to the potion.

"Minor Health, it can save a life." Arthur replied, before standing and moving to Alfred's arm. "This will most likely hurt, but trust me, you don't want for it to heal wrong." He stated.

"Uh . . . okay?" Alfred asked, bracing himself. Arthur yanked his arm to the left, and Alfred let out a groan of pain, then the Harbinger somehow maneuvered it back into its socket with another hard shove. Alfred bit down on his collar until it hurt his teeth, but eventually the pain ebbed away.

"Thank you." Alfred sighed.

"Of course, now get up. We'll get you back to Whiterun and you can rest." Arthur said, pulling Alfred's recently dislocated and relocated (hurr hurr) arm over his shoulder and helping Alfred walk unsteadily back to the road. Arthur whistled and Vigilant trotted over. Arthur got in the saddle and Alfred did as well, much like the set up that had happened earlier that day.

"I don't even know what happened. Art, what the Hell just happened?" Alfred asked as he rested his head once again on Arthur's back.

"The horse you bought was possessed." Arthur replied.

"Of course." Alfred sighed before nearly falling asleep, though he hadn't gotten a good night sleep since that one night, the night he became a beast.

"_Just sleep in my tender arms. Don't worry about any harm, all because I'm right here with you . . ._" Arthur began to sing quietly to himself, though the sound of the lullaby did exactly as it's named suggested, and lulled Alfred right to sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

** So I felt bad about not updating anything else so I came up with this little Skyrim x Hetalia thing. It's not finished yet, but this took me forever to make, and I based it off of gameplay.**

** Yes, the horse is named after the place where it can be purchased, I know, hardie har har. Yes, my horse was killed by Hellhounds. Bummer right? I come out of the Whiterun gates and find my horse killing one Hellhound with the help of a Khajit, two other horses killing another and two more Khajits just standing there while my poor baby was being slaughtered.**

** But whatever. I have over 9000 gold so I can always buy a new horse, though I did love my Solitude lots. I've had him since the beginning of this game. But whatever, love truly right? 'Til death do us apart? Hardie har har.**

** Anyway. I think that's it, and there are no promises on this being an actual thing like Cheeky. (I still have to come up with a name for that damn story. ERGH.)**

** But if that's it, I'll see y'alls later, and I would just like to say I am truly sorry. I know I must've let somebody down out there, right? Ah, but don't worry. Just as soon as Spring Break hits at the end of the month, you shall be expecting updates, da? Da. G'night. G'day. G'WHATEVER.**

** Oh, and before you ask, that song was England's Lullaby. If you don't know what that is, go on YouTube and type in "England's Lullaby". It should be the first one. It's in Japanese, but if you click/tap on the right one, it has the English lyrics on-screen.**


	2. Chapter 2

Days following this, not much happened. The Companions were having one of those "lazy weeks", and Vilkas cracked the joke that 'crime finally decided that the Companions are their Talos,' though it wasn't actually true, and at some point, something would probably come in. This was one of those rare occasions when any member of the Companions would fight each other for a job instead of going and looking for one themselves.

Arthur and Alfred were the only two that didn't involve themselves in this sort of foolish behavior, one because they didn't care for it, and two they lived separately from the rest of the Companions, and were away from most of the disputing. In fact, at the moment, the two were sitting in the living room of their small house, with Arthur reading a book about the Dragon War and Alfred teaching the dog to try and sit.

"Alright, c'mon girl . . ." Alfred murmured, making a downward motion with his hands, attempting to get the dog to understand that it was supposed to copy the motion.

"I don't think –" Arthur was about to try and convince Alfred out of the nonsense when there came a knock at the door. Arthur sighed, closing his very entertaining book, and stood. The Harbinger stretched, cracking his back and walked to the door, opening and looking out. He didn't see someone at first, but as he looked down a Courier was standing before him.

"'Allo, my good sir! I have a message from the Jarl! Here you are, sir!" The Courier handed him a slip of paper and walked away, more jogged really.

Arthur returned to his seat next to Alfred who looked over at the paper.

"_Hello Thane,_

_It is I, Jarl Balgruuf, and unfortunately, I have to ask of your help. Irileth would be the one to handle such a minor cause, but she's with Farengard right now as she isn't feeling well. I need you to go to Riverwood and smack some sense into Alvor for me. No need to ask why, I will tell you if the need to arises._

_Thank you,_

_ Balgruuf the Greater_

"Doesn't seem to hard. . . ." Arthur murmured. Alfred smirked.

"I wanna go with you," He said, turning to look up at Arthur as if daring him to reject Alfred's demand.

He didn't, but he was curious. "What for?"

"I wanna see you in action. Beating up someone, I mean." Alfred replied.

"That's not weird." Arthur narrowed his gaze at him, but stood up and folded the paper, replacing it in his pocket. "But whatever, I don't mind. Let's go." Arthur said, before walking out. The dog jumped to its feet and followed, as did Alfred.

It was about an hour at a walk on Vigilant with the dog following and barking loudly. They reached Riverwood in good time, and stopped in front of the Forge where Alvor was working. Arthur got down with Alfred and immediately raised his fists, moving toward Alvor without hesitation.

"I've been sent here to settle a dispute." He said.

"You can't scare me into submission!" Alvor stated plainly. "Let's go!" He said, raising his own fists, but Arthur had already punched him, not once, not twice, but three times right in his chest. Alvor coughed, but landed a hardy blow on Arthur's cheek. The Harbinger didn't seem to mind, though it looked painful.

No, Arthur just spit out some blood and threw his left knuckle right onto Alvor's forehead, then whipped around, using his right wrist and smacked Alvor's left shoulder painfully, and while the smith was trying to recover, Arthur brought up his heel and slammed it right in the place that ought not to be slammed into.

"I submit, I submit! Just please, stop!" Alvor shouted, falling to the floor as he regained himself. A moment later, he stood once more, pale in the face and looking as though his ten years of dignity build up had just been washed away. "You're tougher than you look."

"You know what you have to do." Arthur stated plainly, lowering his bloody knuckles.

"Yeah, yeah, just leave me alone!" Alvor said, turning away. Arthur shrugged and walked back to Alfred, who was standing there in shock.

"That was wicked . . ." Alfred said to him, "Remind me not to get on your bad side!"

Arthur just chuckled and pulled himself onto Vigilant's back, the dog barking happily and running around, chasing the local chickens. Alfred pulled himself up behind Arthur and they set off back toward Whiterun. It'd become a norm between them to both be riding the paint draft at the same time, and neither were concerned about what others thought. Arthur held the reputation not to be questioned.

As they began to leave Riverwood, a dragon appeared at the tip of the mountain toward Bleak Falls Barrow and began to swoop down, aiming straight for a young girl. Alfred didn't think twice, he tossed himself straight from Vigilant's back, pulling out his Warhammer, and running at the beast as it lowered itself into the village. Arthur too abandoned the draft's back and raised his bow, an arrow knocked and ready to fly.

Alfred raised his heavy weapon and managed, somehow, to scrape the beast's wing, causing it to spin out and smash into the forge where Alvor was. The whole place was destroyed, including the people in it. Hadvar, Alvor, Sigrid, and the young girl that had been living there with them, all of them were now dead.

Arthur shot an arrow.

Alfred charged, raising his Warhammer once more. "Get back! Everyone! Go inside!" He shouted, not bothering to check if the people of Riverwood, other than the warriors, complied. Arthur stashed his bow and pulled out his blade, running after Alfred with three other villagers who charged forward as well.

Alfred brought his Warhammer down on the beast twice before Arthur joined him with the other villagers, just hacking away at the beast as it tried to regain its health, but couldn't as it was losing too much blood too quickly. The dragon was dead in minutes.

"Thank you," one of the villagers said, panting.

Arthur and Alfred nodded to him. "You can go around telling people it is safe for them to come out now, and you should get this cleaned up as soon as possible. We'll be returning to Whiterun to call in extra guards here so this doesn't happen again." Arthur stated sternly and formally.

"Thank you," the man repeated, standing up straight.

"But of course, sir. It's our job." Alfred nodded, before Arthur turned back to the entrance and whistled.

"That was one of the luckiest –" Alfred was cut off when he realized that the dragon's skin was melting away to leave its bones, and that this reddish-whitish glow was absorbing Arthur's entire body.

"Wh-what the . . . .?" He managed. "Did you just . . . take its soul?"

"Yes, I did." Arthur replied, tapping his foot as though absorbing a dragon's soul was nothing – which to him it was. He was getting anxious. Where was Vigilant? He turned back to the entrance and whistled again, this time sharper, which should signal Vigilant he needed her to not delay. Arthur wanted to get to Whiterun quickly to speak to the Jarl.

"That's . . . I didn't think it was possible! In all these years, I knew you were a Dragonborn, but I didn't know . . . that you could actually . . . well, honestly, I didn't really believe it . . . but now . . ." Alfred was stumbling over his own words.

"Shh, before you hurt yourself." Arthur replied and turned around once again, about to whistle when Vigilant trotted up. The Harbinger froze on spot. She had a piece of metal stuck in her forehead and was bleeding pretty badly. Alfred was shocked too, and didn't know what to do just like Arthur. Though, Arthur wasn't down for long. He grabbed her reins and lowered her head to examine the problem.

"We need a stable . . . but the closest one isn't until Whiterun . . ." Arthur muttered more to himself than anyone else, his brain running through the trail to Whiterun, guessing how long it would take to lead her there on foot, and guessing how much time she had.

"We can't pull it off." Arthur spat.

"Over here!" Someone shouted, waving their hand and running across the planks to the mill. Arthur glanced over his shoulder before ripping off a cloth and placing it around the metal to stench the bleeding of the wound and leading his horse after the villager. Alfred followed on the other side of Vigilant.

"Here, I know some stuff about taking care of people. I used to be a Healer," the person said, "My name's Sven, by the way." He said, before cupping his hands in the water. "Here, remove the cloth for a moment. Clean it off."

Alfred did so, washing the piece of Arthur's shirt in the water and drying it on his own clothing. Sven washed away the blood that had begun to form once more as he gently pulled Vigilant's head down slightly more so he could examine the wound. He nodded after a minute or so.

"The piece didn't enter her skull; it didn't hit her hard enough to do that. No, instead it's tilted to look like she's a unicorn. There's two ways I can do this. I can cut open the rest of the skin and then get it out from there, or I can try to pull it out, but I'll probably end up making the current entry wound bigger; either way it'll be bloody and painful and she may die at some point." Sven said.

Arthur had to think, but finally he asked. "Which would be less painful and which would be the quickest?"

"Hm . . . well, the quickest would be cutting off the skin and just letting the metal fall out, but that would be the most painful. Trying to weasel it out would probably hurt less, but it would take longer." Sven replied.

"I thought as much. . . . How much time does she have?" Arthur asked.

"Right now, with the thing in her face? Not long. Maybe an hour or so," Sven replied.

"How long would it take to 'weasel' it out of her head?" Arthur inquired. Alfred saw where this was going.

"I don't know." Sven sighed, his answer was honest. Alfred didn't know either, and surely Arthur didn't.

"Cut off the skin and let it fall out." Arthur replied, handing Sven a small dagger from his belt.

"I would've chosen that as well, hold her still for me, okay?" Sven asked, before raising the dagger and gently outlining the hide on Vigilant's forelock. She squealed, trying to move away from him, but Alfred stepped behind her and pressed against her rump, holding her still, while Arthur gripped her reins and attempted to calm her down.

The entire process didn't take long, after Sven had scalped the rest of the metal under Vigilant's skin, it hadn't needed more than a slight touch to just fall right off as Sven had said it would. After that the younger man didn't know what to do, but Arthur did. He mixed different looking leaves (some of which Alfred didn't even know existed) into a poultice that smelled strongly of goat dung, and spread it on the incision, then he carefully stitched it together with a needle and thread donated from the Riverwood Trader, and with that, it was healed – or well, on its way to being healed, that is.

"We should head home, we've spent too much time here and the Jarl needs to know what happened." Arthur stated after everything was cleaned up. Vigilant was dozing quietly in the sunshine, though she was standing up, she looked comfortable.

"Are you saying leave her here?" Alfred asked, indicating toward the mare.

"For now, yes, I can always come back and get her another day. Besides, if I leave her here, Sven can tend to her wound. I've told him what to do and left him enough of the cream I made so he doesn't have to make more. Looks like you and I will have some jogging to do." Arthur added.

"Oh, fun. I was getting used to the easy life on a horse again." Alfred sighed, but chuckled. "Let's get moving, we should be there before the sun sets so we aren't in any more danger than we usually are." He said. Arthur nodded and they started off down the path toward Whiterun.

They reached the Heart of Skyrim right as the sun dipped over the edge of the mountain, and the moon was rising in the opposite direction. Alfred went into the house and let Arthur handle talking to the Jarl. He didn't have much business there. As he sat down, the dog walked in and jumped in the chair Arthur usually sat in. Alfred turned to look at the canine.

"Huh . . . you need a name . . ." Alfred muttered to himself, though the statement was similar to the one he would say if he were speaking directly to the dog.

The dog just barked in response, not understanding in the slightest was Alfred was saying.

"I'll name you . . ." Alfred thought for a moment. "I'll name you River." He said finally, patting the dog's head. Alfred generally named the pets he owned after places, for example, Solitude was named after the city. His old Skeever was named Wind, like Windhelm. River wagged his tail and rolled onto his back, inviting Alfred to scratch his belly. Alfred rolled his eyes, but complied, giving River's stomach a good scratch.

Just then, Arthur walked in looking troubled. Well, he always looked troubled, but right now he looked deeply concerned. Alfred looked up and frowned.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Ah, I . . ." Arthur didn't respond other than that, as he stood in the doorway, thinking. "I have to go." He said finally.

"Where are you going?" Alfred asked, guessing it was for a mission.

"I don't know. I just have to go. Get out of the city. I have to get out of Whiterun Hold completely." Arthur stated, still absently standing there, letting the warm air out.

"What? Why? For how long do you have to stay away?" Alfred asked, jumping to his feet.

"Until we get a new Jarl, at the very least; which may not happen for a long time, I may not outlive Jarl Balgruuf." Arthur replied, looking up at him for the first time.

"Why?" Alfred repeated.

"Jarl Balgruuf knows I'm a werewolf."

Alfred froze. "How could he possibly know that?"

"I've only shifted into my beast form three, maybe four times. I don't know, someone leaked information. Probably for gold too, and I know who it is." Arthur glared at him. Alfred felt terror shoot through him. Arthur couldn't possibly believe that it was he who had told the Jarl about them!

"W-who was it?" Alfred asked, the terror in his voice obvious.

"Ria."

"_Ria_?" Alfred exclaimed. He felt so relieved that Arthur didn't think it was him, but at the same time, Ria was the first person he'd built a small friendship with, and he didn't understand why Ria would do something like that! She respected Arthur above all people in the Companions! Just how much gold was she given to do such a horrible act anyway?

"Did you tell them that you aren't?"

"I could never lie, but I did not admit to it, either." Arthur replied, hanging his head.

"Well I can!" Alfred walked to the door and grabbed Arthur's wrist, stomping angrily up to Dragonsreach and walking right in through the heavy doors. The guards there gave them confused and concerned looks, but Alfred didn't mind it. Arthur on the other hand was very self-conscience. He knew most of the guards by name.

"Sir, Jarl Balgruuf, I'd like to speak to about the absurd idea that Arthur is a werewolf. He isn't. I've known him for many years now, and I'm certain that if he were a werewolf, he would have told me. It never even occurred to me that such creatures existed, nor that someone could just easily become one. Plus, werewolves do not age. I know for a fact that Arthur does." Alfred said, though he was lying to the core. Arthur hadn't changed since the first day he saw him, nearly half a decade ago.

"Who are you?" The Jarl asked, gazing at the two judgmentally.

"I am Alfred F. Jones, part of The Circle of the Companions. I am Arthur's second-in-command, if you will." Alfred stated. He needed to have a reputation to effect the Jarl's view on him, and with Arthur having such a value ranking, he was sure it meant something. That it did. The Jarl sat up straight, and his expression changed completely.

"Alright, so you believe that Arthur isn't, but I had a reliable source tell me he is?" The Jarl reviewed.

"Arthur will tell you that he isn't a werewolf. That's two of some of the most reliable sources that you can get say that he isn't, and a simple member such as someone like Ria, is not, in fact, a reliable source." Alfred retorted.

"If he says he isn't, I'll let him stay." The Jarl knew that Arthur would speak the truth, and if he didn't, he would be trialed for treason. Arthur knew that as well, but the Harbinger was good at keeping secrets. He'd kept being a werewolf a secret for nearly two decades. But could he lie to his superior? Wait, as Dragonborn, and the Thane of Falkreath, the Jarl was _his_ inferior!

Arthur's complete attitude changed, scaring the Jarl. Balgruuf had hoped that Arthur would not come to that very conclusion, and all Arthur had to do was make a slight cough and throwing a daring glare toward the man for the older gentleman to sigh and shake his head.

"You're right, I shouldn't question someone so valuable to me. I apologize. You may stay in Whiterun, but Arthur. If you are what I thought you were, you will not shift at any point in my city, or at any point in the Whiterun Hold. Is that too much to ask?" The Jarl inquired, gazing at Arthur evenly.

Arthur just nodded in response, not saying a word. Saying the wrong thing could get himself killed. No, he turned on his heel and walked out silently, with Alfred in toe.

Once outside, Alfred leaned into Arthur's ear and murmured.

"Well, I think that went quite well."

Arthur to him and half-smirked. "I should take to you some of my meetings. You can be very persuasive when you wish to be." He said.

"I have my ways." Alfred tipped his head mockingly.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

** Well there you have it. It's shorter than the first chapter, but I had to set up more stuff with that chapter than this one. And as for the metal in Vig's head . . . yeah, I was in Riverwood, looking for my horse after killing a dragon, and there was a piece of something in her head. I was like "WTF!" but it poofed after like a minute or so.**

** Shout out to my Dad, since it's his birthday! Though he probably won't read this, or, I hope not. He doesn't need to be involved with my life. O.o**

** But anyway, yes, Alfred, I see you. And yes, I know I'm awesome. No, JK. I set up this story with Arthur and his reputation because he's too much of an uke already. If I had switched the roles, the two of them may not have become friends based on their personalities. So yeah. **

** On a different note, I have no idea how often I'll be updating, so just stay tuned!**


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